News & Media

Media Releases/Statements

Kuala Lumpur, 28 February 2011

Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia recognised as a Self-Regulatory Organisation by the Securities Commission MalaysiaThe Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) announced today the recognition of the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for the unit trust industry.

As an SRO recognised under Section 323 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, FIMM will regulate its own members while also ensuring that investors are protected and public interests are upheld. The FIMM’s immediate task is to enhance professionalism of sales agents and distributors through industry training and formulate a robust sales practices regime with adequate supervision and monitoring by FIMM. This is necessary to elevate investor confidence and protection when investing in unit trust products and also to help investors avoid being misled into investing in a product that is not suitable for them. FIMM will also be another avenue for investors to lodge any grievances or queries on the unit trust industry.

Empowering the FIMM to self-regulate is important because being part of the industry, FIMM will be able to better understand and adapt to the ever changing needs of the industry. This complements the SC’s efforts to ensure a more efficient and effective regulatory regime without compromising investor protection.

To support this new responsibility, the governance structure at FIMM has been enhanced through a 45% representation on the Board by Public Interest Directors (PIDs). The PIDs will provide independent oversight of FIMM’s activities to ensure that public interest and investor protection remain the first order of priority.

The Chairman of the Board is Encik Abdul Kadir Kassim. He holds 43 years of legal experience and vast exposure to the Malaysian public and private sectors. Encik Abdul Kadir has served in various organisations, including among others, as a member of the Securities Commission Malaysia and a committee member of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. He is currently a partner of the law firm Kadir Andri & Partners and is also a member of the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC).